


UnderFantasy

by Alisa180



Category: Final Fantasy XIV, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Crossover, Don't strictly need to have played FFXIV to understand and enjoy this, Gen, The FFXIV twins experience Undertale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-07-12 12:19:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7103116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alisa180/pseuds/Alisa180
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The age eleven Leveilluer twins end up falling down a hole during an incredibly ill-advised hike up the local Mt. Ebott. Beneath the mountain, they discover the legendary Underground. There's a way to get home... provided they can traverse a huge cavern of monsters, many of whom are after their souls. But how to get home becomes the lesser mystery, as ever stranger things start happening to them. One starts hearing voices... And the other discovers the ability to travel back in time!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fallen Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While this is pretty much follows Undertale's plot, this story has a few of its own twists. And I'm not just talking about the crossover element.

  _"Long ago, two races ruled over the Earth: Humans and Monsters. One day, war broke out between the two races. After a long battle, the humans were victorious. They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell. To this day, legends say those that climb Mt. Ebott never return..."_

  _"But Grandfather, people HAVE climbed the mountain and returned. Mt. Ebott has been scaled multiple times."_

  _"This is true. It is only a legend. Gods know people summited the mountain in an attempt to prove it wrong... And supposedly succeeded."_

  _"Supposedly?"_

  _"Every year, there are disappearances on the mountain, as there are any other. Most are your typical climbing hazards. Falling, wild animals, exposure... But every now and then, you get one that seemingly defies all explanation."_

  _"Do you think there are monsters under Ebott, Grandfather?"_

  _"Don't be ridiculous, Alisaie. It's just an old legend."_

  _"I wasn't asking you, Alphinaud!"_

  _"Children, please. It is true many think it's an old story. ...But stories often have a grain of truth in them. I believe... There's something unexplained about the mountain. Whether it be the monsters, sealed beneath the mountain for countless years, or something else entirely. And... a part of me wouldn't mind knowing the answer someday."_

* * *

Alphinaud groaned, opening his eyes. His whole entire body ached, and his head throbbed. Ow...

He sat up, rubbing the back of his head. He looked up. A massive hole hung high above them. Oh, right, they'd tripped and fallen. He rested on a bed of golden flowers, which seemed to have broken his fall.

He dipped his head. Now look what he'd done! Alisaie was never going to let him hear the end of this.

...Where _was_ Alisaie anyhow?

His head looked frantically from side to side, searching for sign of his twin. "Alisaie? Alisaie!?"

A voice came from within the blackness. "I'm right here, you worrywort!" Alisaie emerged from the dark, stepping into the light. His mirror image, her white hair pulled back into a ponytail, showing off her pointed ears, wearing thicker clothing suited to their outdoor expedition, and with a messenger bag hanging at her side. Like him, she was eleven years, though that was actually closer to nine in Elezen years.

She rested a hand on her hips, "Finally awake, huh? I was starting to wonder." She offered a hand. He took it and she helped pull him up. "I need to ask... Did you cell phone make it?"

Good question. He reached into his own bag, and dug around through the supplies they'd brought for the trip. He eventually fished out his badly cracked and damaged cellphone. Experimentally, he hit a few buttons. Nothing. He shook his head.

"Thought so. Mine was busted by the fall too." Alisaie looked up. Alphinaud followed her gaze to the hole above them.

"Well... It probably doesn't really matter." He said. "I don't think we'd get service down here anyway."

"I guess." She adjusted the strap of her bag, and looked back at her brother, "I've been looking around. This cavern seems to be one of a huge system. It probably stretches on for miles. And... Well, you'll want to see this."

Alphinaud followed her, as she led him away from the flower bed. He glanced over his shoulder at it. Golden flowers... Like what grew down in the valley. How did they end up growing down here?

Alisaie gestured with her hand, "Look at this!" He turned his attention back to her. His eyes widened slightly.

An arch. As in, a manmade construction. What the...? He looked back at the flowers again, then at the ground in thought. "...There might have been-might still _be-_ people down here." That would explain the arch, and the flowers. The flowers must have been cultivated by others who fell down here.

"That wasn't my thought." Alisaie said. "Well, I mean, clearly something intelligent made this... But I don't think it was _humans_."

He groaned, following her train of thought. "You think it was monsters? Alisaie, I've told you, that's just an old story!"

She huffed, crossing her arms, "Well, excuse me, but we fall under Mt. Ebott, the mountain people have speculated for _years_ that the monsters were sealed under, and we just happen to find something clearly made by human hands... Assuming it was humans at all?"

"Other people who've fallen down here could made it." He argued.

"Of the dozens of people who hike Mt. Ebott every year, maybe a _few_ of them are 'unexplained' disappearances. Do you think that would be nearly enough to build," She gestured at the arch, "This? Building something like this requires materials, planning, not to mention the actual crafting... I can't imagine enough people fall down here to create an infrastructure like that.

"What's more, what would be the point? This is obviously decorative. With how few likely actually end up here, I'd think they'd put their efforts towards, like, food and stuff."

As much as he hated it, Alphinaud was forced to admit his sister had a point. It was highly unlikely the humans who'd fallen down here over the years had built the arch. But the other possibility was even more so. He ran his hand over the stone.

"I guess... There's only one way to find out." He said.

"You mean, going deeper?" Alisaie looked at her feet, "Uh..."

He turned to face her, "What's wrong? You're normally gung-ho about this kind of stuff."

"What part of 'monsters' didn't you get? There's no telling what we might find in there!"

He opened his mouth to remind her that there was _no such thing_ , but thought better of it. Instead, he said, "Well, we can't stay here. We packed supplies for a day at best. There's no water here, and no food, unless you want to substantiate on flowers the rest of your life. I'd say it's prudent to be wary... But we have to move on to survive."

She sighed, "You're right. I hate to admit it, but you are. But, speaking hypothetically here, what will we do if we do happen to encounter monsters?"

Alphinaud rested a hand on his bag, "We both have the grimoires Grandfather gave us, don't we?" They'd brought them to drive off wild animals they might encounter, but driving off monsters worked too.

This seemed to reassure her, as she rested her hand over her bag as well. Thinking of Grandfather, likely. She nodded, "Okay. We'll go in further then."

He returned the nod, and turned to face the blackness beyond the arch. "Alright. Stick close, and follow me."

He could practically sense her eyeroll. He brushed it off, passing through the arch with his twin in tow.

* * *

Stick close and follow him, he said. Yeesh! Alisaie rolled her eyes, before following her brother beyond the arch. Still acting like he was the one in charge, despite the fact it was his fault they were here in the first place!

...Okay, she shouldered some blame for following him of her own accord. But she'd had the feeling he was walking straight into trouble, and followed to help pull him out if it came to that. ...Not that this was a situation she could exactly pull herself out of, much less her brother.

But! Still! She could think of nothing worse than him being trapped down here with nobody to help. Survival manuals advocated the buddy system for a reason. They had a far better chance of making it out together, than either of them alone.

In the middle of the room beyond the arch, grew a single flower. It looked like a golden flower, except... Something felt off. She stayed behind her brother as they approached. Huh, it almost seemed it had a-

"Howdy!"

"EEEK!"

Alisaie stumbled backwards, tripped, and fell on her butt. Not that it mattered in face of the fact that _the flower had just spoken._ It had a smiling face, though the smile lessened a little.

"Gosh!" It said. "Sorry! I didn't mean to scare ya!" It winked and stuck out its tongue, "What are you scared of a little old flower for?"

She raised a single, shaking finger, pointing at it, "Y-you talked! You're talking!"

"Of course I am!" The flower said, "Why would I not be?"

Alphinaud's eyes had blown wide, and he'd taken a few steps backwards himself. Now, he composed himself and approached the flower, leaning over to talk with it. "Well, flowers don't talk where we come from. So it's really surprising to see one do it here."

"No problem! I'm kinda special, so even people down here would be surprised."

"Down here..." Alphinaud looked around. "Is this... the legendary Underground? The place where monsters were sealed?"

"Got it in one!"

"And... Are you a monster?"

"Nope! Like I said! I'm kinda special."

"Sorry, but, what are you called?"

"I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower!" Flowey scrutinized them. "Hmmm... Someone ought to teach you how things work around here. I guess little 'ol me will have to do!" The center of Alphinaud's chest glowed. A heart shape appeared. "See that heart? That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being!" The glow, and the heart, faded.

Alisaie drew herself to her feet. She frowned. Something felt wrong. The flower's smile was too sickeningly sweet, like the smiles of some of the older girls back at the Stadium, right before they did something particularly cruel. And, monster or not, she didn't trust it.

"Your SOUL starts off weak," Flowey continued, "But can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV. What's LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course! You want some LOVE, don't you? Don't worry, I'll share some with you! Down here, LOVE is shared through..." White seeds of some sort emerged from the flower. "Little white... 'friendliness pellets.'"

Something felt VERY wrong.

"Are you ready?" The seeds glided towards Alphinaud. "Go ahead! Get as many as you can!"

Her brother reached for one of the seeds. Alarm bells went off in her head.

"NO! Don't touch those!" She shoved her brother out of the way. One of the seeds hit her square in the chest. Pain wracked her entire body, and she sank to her knees.

"Alisaie!?"

She lifted her head. Flowey's smiling face had twisted into something much more monster-like, and it wore a cruel smirk. "How perceptive and brave of you." It said, voice layered with sarcasm. "You idiot. In this world, it's kill or BE killed. Why would ANYONE pass up an opportunity like this!?"

Multiple seeds surrounded her. Her brother called her name again, but what could he do? The circle of seeds was impenetrable.

"Die." The seeds slowly closed in on her. She closed her eyes.

A yelp caused her to open them again. The seeds had vanished. And Flowey was on fire. Literally. The flower screeched in pain, then retreated beneath the ground. Good riddance!

"Are you okay!?" Alphinaud ran over, and kneeled by her.

"Yeah... I'm fine..." He helped her to her feet, and she leaned on him for support. Oww... That had really hurt.

"What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youths..."

From the darkness, emerged a humanoid goat, wearing a black robe with a strange symbol. Alisaie clutched at her brother,

A monster! An actual monster! She'd seen one just like it in a storybook once. Alphinaud clutched her back, and she felt a small tremble.

The monster looked at them, "Ah, do not be afraid, my children. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins."

"Are you..." Alphinaud swallowed, "Are you the one who rescued us?"

"Yes. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down, and I happened upon your situation." Her eyes slid over to Alisaie, "Are you hurt, young one?"

Alisaie shook, as the monster approached. "G-get away from me!" She tried to back away, but her brother's grip tightened.

"It's alright, my child." The monster said. "I am only going to heal you." The monster hovered her paws close to Alisaie. A gentle light emitted from them. The pain receded, and her strength returned. Toriel stepped back. "There. Does that feel better?"

Alisaie pushed away from her brother, not taking her eyes off Toriel. "Yes... Thank you..."

Toriel smiled warmly. "You are the first human to come here in a long time. I will do my best to ensure your protection during your time here." She turned, and gestured with a paw, "Come! I will guide you through the catacombs."

Alphinaud pulled at Alisaie's arm. She followed him and Toriel through another arch ahead.

Monsters did exist, Alisaie thought. Her question now was, if others has fallen down here, what had became of them?

* * *

 

Alphinaud had no shortage of questions for Toriel.

"You're a monster, right? An actual one?"

"Correct."

"Do you know what that flower was? It said it wasn't a monster."

"I know nothing about that. I only saw children in need of help, so I assisted."

"You called this place the Ruins. What are they the Ruins of?"

"The old monster capital city, Home."

"What happened to it? Why was it abandoned? Actually, it is _really_ abandoned? Do monsters besides you live here?"

His sister elbowed him. "Hey, slow down, would ya?"

He gave her a look, "Come on, you have to be curious too."

"Of course I am. But there's also something called tact that you're, ironically, foregoing right now."

Toriel chuckled, "I do not mind at all! In fact, I thoroughly enjoy such inquisitive minds. Please, ask as many questions as you'd like." 

They entered a surprisingly well-lit room. No matter where Alphinaud looked, he couln't pinpoint the light source. The structures around them were constructed of old, purplish stone, much like the arch they'd seen. There were pair of stairs, both curling upwards towards a door. A pile of dead leaves rested between them at the bottom.

"Home was abandoned a very long time ago." Toriel continued, "Once monsters realized humans wouldn't be pursuing them underground, they migrated to the end of the caverns, where they established the current capital, New Home."

Alisaie raised her hand, "Question. Who came up with the city names?"

"The king, of course." A scowl flickered across Toriel's face, but it immediately reverted to her usual gentle expression. "He is very bad at names."

"No kidding."

The king of all monsters. Alphinaud was curious to know more, but the scowl he glimpsed on Toriel deterred him. It probably wasn't smart to pursue that inquiry.

"I am not the only one who lives here." Toriel continued. "Other monsters inhabit the old city. Most of them are descendants of those who stayed behind during the migration. What remains is much less a city, and more a very small town." She started up the stairs towards the door. Alisaie followed her.

Alphinaud paused in front of the leaf pile. The shadow of the Ruins looming overhead... For some reason, it filled him with resolve.

"Alphinaud!" His sister shouted from the top of the stairs. "Are you coming?"

He snapped out of his reverie. "Coming!" He hurried up the stairs to join Alisaie and Toriel. The three of them went through the door, at last entering the Ruins proper.

The next room had a closed door, several floor switches, and a switch on the far wall. "Welcome to your new home, innocent ones." Toriel proclaimed.

Alisaie looked confused. "Our... new home?"

"Of course. You don't have anywhere else to go, do you?"

Alisaie bit her lip. Alphinaud didn't know how to respond.. Right now, they had no way of telling if there was a way to escape the Underground.

Toriel walked over several of the floor switches, then pulled the switch on the far wall. "The Ruins are full of puzzles." She explained. "Ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys.

One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them."

She went through the newly opened door. Puzzles, hm? That sounded interesting. Alphinaud began to follow her.

"'Only the fearless may proceed.'" He turned his head. Alisaie read off a metal plaque hanging on the wall. "'Brave ones, foolish ones. Both walk not the middle road.'" She looked at Alphinaud, "Sooo, does this make us brave, or foolish?"

"A bit of both, I think." He replied.

They went through the door into the next room. Toriel waited for them. There were a few small channels of water, with bridges over them. Vines grew on the walls.

"What are those channels for?" Alphinaud asked Toriel, pointing to the bodies of water.

"Oh those? There's a lake not far from here that served as Home's main source of water. These channels were dug to direct the water where it needed to go. There are many of them in the Ruins, you'll find. It's perfectly safe to drink, so if you're ever thirsty, take a handful."

It was difficult to argue with her assessment of the water, as Alphinaud gazed upon the clear surface. Alisaie, though, eyed it skeptically.

"Are you sure it's safe?" She asked. "I mean, an exposed channel like this... Don't animals, er, go in it?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand your question." Toriel said.

"She's asking if animals go to the bathroom in here." Alphinaud clarified.

"Oh, no! Nothing down here produces waste like that. Not even us monsters. We technically don't even need water. But we enjoy a nice refreshing drink every now and then."

Seeing no reason not to trust her words, Alphinaud pulled his water bottle from his bag, and filled it from the channel. Alisaie took the hint, and did the same. After a nice, long drink, and refilling again to be safe, they were ready to continue.

"To make progress here," Toriel said, "You will need to trigger several switches." Then, she added, "Do not worry, I have labelled the ones that you need to flip."

As the crossed the channels, they saw she had indeed marked a few of the switches with large yellow arrow pointing to them. Beyond the first channel, was a single switch which Alisaie flipped. Across the second, were two switches. Alphinaud flipped the one Toriel had marked.

The spikes blocking the way forward receded with a loud sound. Toriel clapped her hands together, "Splendid! I am proud of you, little ones. Let us move to the next room." She went ahead of them.

Alisaie, out of curiosity, tried the other switch. "This doesn't even work." She announced. Alphinaud felt a flare of annoyance.

"Then what was even the point?" She had solved the puzzle for them, yet it wasn't a real puzzle to begin with"

In the next room, the only feature of note was a training dummy of some sort. "As humans living in the Underground," Toriel said, "Monsters may attack you. You will need to be prepared for this situation. However, worry not! The process is you encounter a monster, you will enter a you are in a Fight, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict."

Alisaie raised a hand, "But what if you're not around?"

Toriel tilted her head, "I can't imagine why I wouldn't be."

"I can think of a few scenarios..."

"None of which you shall encounter, with any luck." She gestured to the dummy, "Here. Practice talking to this dummy."

"Why?" Alphinaud asked. "What good does that do?"

"It's just practice." Toriel said. "If you need an idea for a conversation topic, jokes can be useful for 'breaking the ice.' Listen to this one... What did the skeleton tile his roof with?" A pause. "SHIN-gles! "

The twins groaned. Toriel shrugged, "Well, I thought it was amusing."

Surprisingly, the joke made Alphinaud feel a bit less stupid about approaching the dummy. If only because anything he'd say would be better then _that_. He tried talking to the dummy. It wasn't much for conversation. Alisaie burst into giggles. Toriel smiled approvingly, clapping her paws together.

"Very good, Alphinaud! You are very good!"

"Wow, Brother." Alisaie managed to say, recovering from her giggling fit. "Maybe you can talk monsters to death!" He glared at her. She strutted up, pulling her grimoire from her bag. "If you're done, allow me. Hi-YA!" With a single spell, the dummy shattered.

Toriel's hand flew to her mouth, "Ahh, the dummies are not for fighting! They are for talking! We do not want to hurt anybody, do we...?"

Alisaie turned to face her, "Well, what else are we supposed to do if you aren't around?"

Toriel walked over, and placed a hand on Alisaie's head, "I understand your feelings, my dear. But all monsters are like you and I. They have thoughts, feelings... Families. When you hurt a monster, you're hurting a person. Do you understand?"

Alisaie lowered her head, "I guess... Sorry, Toriel."

"It's alright." Toriel reassured, "Just be sure to keep in mind for the future, okay?"

The twins followed Toriel into the next room. Alisaie lagged behind, eyes still downcast. Alphinaud gave her a worried glance over his shoulder. "There is another puzzle in this room." Toriel said, causing him to turn back to her. "I wonder if you can solve it?"

"Probably." Alphinaud said, "The two of us are considered pretty smart for our age." He puffed out his chest, "Child geniuses, they call us. And we recently became the youngest ever admitted into the Stadium, the most prestigious university in the country. So, don't underestimate us."

Toriel raised a hand to her mouth, hiding a smile, "Oh my, I had no idea you were such intelligent children!" He deflated. She said that like she didn't believe him!

A scream caused him to whirl around. A frog-like creature had popped out of seemingly nowhere. _Froggit_. Alphinaud frowned. How did he know that? ...Now was not the time!

"Get away from me!" Alisaie yelled. She tugged her grimoire from her bag, and hastily cast a spell. Froggit croaked in displeasure, but before he could retaliate, Toriel rushed over. She glared at Froggit. The monster's eyes widened in fear. Despite its injury, it beat a hasty retreat.

Alisaie breathed hard. Her eyes drifted to the grimoire clutched in her hands, and widened. "I... I'm sorry!" She fumbled to put it back in her bag. "I just... panicked..."

Toriel ran a gentle hand through the girl's hair, "No worries, my dear. Just remember that I'm right nearby next time, okay?" Alisaie nodded, looking only half-reassured.

They reached a wide channel. The bridge spanning it was covered in spikes. "This is the puzzle." Toriel said. "But... Here." She held out her paws, "Both of you take my hands for a moment."

Alphinaud blinked, "You aren't even going to let us try to solve it?"

"Oh, hush." Alisaie said, taking Toriel's hand. "Just go with it." Alphinaud hesitated, then clasped the outstretched hand. Toriel guided them across the bridge, the spikes receding as she walked in a specific, winding pattern. She released the twins once they were across.

"Puzzles seem to be a little too dangerous for now." Toriel said.

"How can a puzzle be dangerous?" Alphinaud's voice rose, irritation leaking through.

"Do you remember that one movie," Alisaie said, "Where they had to play a series of piano notes _exactly_ right, and for every one they got wrong, the ground fell away? If they got it wrong too many times, they would have been sent plunging into the abyss."

Alphinaud sighed in defeat, "I see your point..."

The next room was nothing but a very long hallway. It was dimly lit, so they couldn't see the end. "You have done excellently thus far, my children." Toriel said. "However... I have a difficult request to ask of you two. I would like you both to walk to the end of the room by yourselves." Her face gew solemn, "Forgive me for this."

Toriel walked ahead of them, faster than they could ever hope to catch up. She vanished into the darkness. Alphinaud led his sister down the hallway.

The silence was unbearable. Alphinaud spoke first, "What do you think of Toriel?"

"I think she's nice." Alisaie said. "Being around her... It makes me feel a little less homesick."

Home. It seemed like forever ago, since they'd left the family mansion for the Stadium. He had to admit, Toriel was a welcome, soothing prescense after they'd fallen, but...

"Don't you think she's a bit too much?" Alphinaud waved a hand. "I mean, she's yet to let us solve a puzzle by ourselves, and she treats walking down a hallway alone like its a big deal! She's nice, but I feel smothered."

"She means well. I didn't trust her at first, but I really think she's only looking at what's best for us."

"But she's treating us like children!"

"We ARE children, remember?"

He couldn't think of a good counter, so they fell into silence for the rest of the walk. They reached the end of the hallway. Toriel was nowhere in sight. Seemingly. She emerged from a behind a nearby a nearby pillar.

"Greetings, my children." She said, "Do not worry, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time. Thank you for trusting me. However, there was an important reason for this exercise. ...to test your independence. I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while. Please remain here. It's dangerous to explore by yourself."

Her face lit up, "I have an idea. I will give you a cell phone." She reached into her robes, and pulled out an old-fashioned phone. She handed it to Alphinaud. "If you have a need for anything, just call. Be good, alright?"

Toriel left, leaving the twins alone. Alphinaud gripped the cell phone. Something urged him to leave. To explore. His own curiosity, perhaps?

He turned to Alisaie, "Let's go."

"Go where?" She crossed her arms, "Toriel told us to stay here."

"Aren't you curious about the Ruins, though?"

"Remember what happened last time you pursued your curiosity against the adult's orders?"

He... honestly couldn't argue that. Still, he faced away, "Alright, you can stay here if you want. I'm going on." He went through the door at the end of the hallway, and didn't look back.

* * *

Alisaie glowered at the door with crossed arms. After several seconds, she uncrossed them and sighed. She was going to regret this later.

"Alphinaud, wait up!"


	2. The Ruins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reason this took so long is because a certain fight in this chapter proved to be a royal pain to write. As in, 'Is this even possible to novelize properly???' And even once I broke through that block, this still somehow ended up clocking over 5k.

"Anything?" Alisaie asked.

Alphinaud lowered the cell phone from his ear, "No. I keep getting a 'this number does not exist' message. Seems the monster and human cell networks aren't compatible."

She sighed, "Well, it was worth a shot." They had hoped they could maybe, possibly, use the cell phone to contact the surface. But no such luck. "So, do you have any idea where we're going? Or even what our goal here is?"

"Not really." He admitted, "We're just exploring. This place is full of history. We're bound to find something interesting."

The cell phone rang as they entered another room. Alphinaud answered it. "Hello?"

Alisaie poked him, "Hey, put it on speakerphone so I can hear."

"Give me a moment." Her brother scanned the phone, then pressed a button. He held it between them. "There."

She leaned in, "Hello?"

"Hello, this is Toriel." Toriel's voice came from the speaker. Alisaie lit up,

"Hi, Toriel! What's going on?"

"I am merely checking in. You two have not left the room, have you?" The twins glanced guiltily at each other. "There are a few puzzles ahead I have yet to explain. It would be dangerous to try to solve them yourselves."

"Don't worry." Alphinaud said quickly, "We'll be careful. Right?" He looked at his sister.

"R-right!" She chimed.

"I'm glad to hear it." Toriel said. "Be good, alright?" There was a click, as she hung up.

Alisaie sagged, "I feel bad for lying."

"We didn't really lie." Alphinaud slipped the phone back into his bag. "We didn't answer her question as to whether we or not we left the room. We just said we'll be careful. Which was already a given."

"Isn't that lying by omission?"

"Would you rather we made a boldfaced one?"

"I guess not..." It did little to ease the guilt. She silently cursed her private obligation to follow her brother against Toriel's orders.

In this room, there were dead leaves scattered around. To Alisaie's surprise, not far from where they entered, the frog monster that had attacked her before nursed the injury she had inflicted.

"Hey." Alisaie tugged on her brother's sleeve and pointed, "Isn't that the monster from before?"

"Froggit." He said.

She blinked, "Huh?"

"That monster. It's called Froggit."

She eyed him critically. "...And how do you know that, exactly?"

He averted his eyes, looking at the ground, "I don't know... I just do." He walked ahead of her before she could ask more questions. She frowned, then followed him.

Froggit looked up as they approached. Its eyes widened, and it took a few steps backwards.

"Ah! Please don't hurt me! _Ribbit_."

Alisaie froze. She stared at the frog monster. It took a second for her to find her voice. "Y-you can talk!?"

"Of course I can talk." It replied.

Toriel's words flooded back to her. _"But all monsters are like you and I. They have thoughts, feelings... Families. When you hurt a monster, you're hurting a person. Do you understand?"_ Oh no...

Alphinaud leaned over Froggit, "Sorry about what my sister did. We're new to the Underground, and she wasn't sure how to react to your... approach. I'm Alphinaud, by the way, and my sister here is Alisaie."

"I'm Froggit. _Ribbit_." What? So that was its name!? How the heck did Alphinaud know it, then? "If I may, you seem much more pleasant then your sister."

Alisaie scoffed, "Hah! That depends on your perspective." She kneeled next to the monster. "Um, how bad is it?" Froggit drew away from her warily. She bit her lip, "I'm really sorry about hurting you. Like my brother said, I... reacted kinda poorly. Here."

She drew her grimoire from her bag. Froggit flinched upon seeing it. She smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring way. "I'm not going to hurt you again, promise." She flipped the tome open and concentrated. There was a soft glow. Froggit watched in amazement as his injury mended before his eyes. Once she finished, she sagged, feeling slightly drained.

"Amazing!" Froggit exclaimed. He looked at her in awe, "You're a magician?"

"That wasn't obvious before?" She fumbled her grimoire back into her bag. "We're not very experienced, mind. Some basic offense, some healing, and, of course, summoning a familiar. But that's about it. Anyway, I hope you can forgive me for before."

Froggit croaked, "I forgive you, human. But I have some advice for you about battling monsters from now on. If you act a certain way or fight until you almost defeat them... They might not want to battle you anymore. If a monster does not want to battle you, please..." he looked at her with pleading eyes, "Use some mercy, humans."

She bit her lip, standing to her feet. "We can try, but..."

"No." Alphinaud said suddenly. "Not try. We will. We won't let anyone else get hurt on our account. I promise." Alisaie stared at him. Was he nuts?

"Very well. _Ribbit_." Froggit croaked, "I shall hold you to that promise, humans."

"What are you thinking?" Alisaie asked, as they left the Froggit behind. "That we actually can 'talk monsters to death', metaphorically speaking?"

"We're obligated to try." He gestured back in the direction of Froggit. "As we just learned, monsters are sapient like us. Like Toriel said, they have thoughts and feelings of their own. You don't want to hurt anyone else like that, do you?"

"Of course I don't. I'm just wondering if it's feasible. Just because we play nice isn't going to keep them from attacking us, you know. If we aren't careful, we could both get killed." Of course she didn't want to go through that again, but what could they do if the monsters didn't give them any other choice?

It took a few seconds for Alphinaud to respond. Finally, in a soft voice, he said, "'Kill or be killed'..."

"What?"

He looked at her. "That's what you're thinking, right? That's what Flowey said. In more or less words."

"Don't compare me to that horrible... thing!" She snapped, outraged.

"I'm just pointing out," He crossed his arms, "The basic argument is the same. We have to hurt, or worse kill, the monsters down here in order to ensure our own safety. I'll concede, it's difficult to argue against that logic, especially if the monsters persist in attacking us."

He smirked at her, in that self-satisfied way that grinded on her nerves. "But... wouldn't you want try to prove it wrong? I know you hate it, so wouldn't you want to try to prove it wrong?"

Argh, she hated when he got all smug like that. Speaking in a tone of voice that said 'I'm right, and you know it.' Making it worse was his argument was working."...Fine." She huffed, "We'll do it your way. But you'll have to be the one to do it."

"I'm glad you could see it my way, dear sister."

"...I hate you sometimes. Do you know that?"

He didn't respond, but his smirk didn't fade as he walked ahead of her. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down and follow.

If he got them killed, she'd murder him.

* * *

 

"Yeek!"

Alisaie seized Alphinaud as the floor gave out underneath them. Alphinaud braced himself, as they tumbled downward for the second time that day.

They landed a pile of leaves with a flump. Alphinaud sat up, rubbing the back of his head. Well, at least it wasn't as bad as the fall into the Underground. Still hurt, though.

His sister sat up, groaning. "Are you alright?" He asked.

She pulled a leaf from her hair. "Ugh... Twice in one day. I'm going to be sore tomorrow... I'm fine. Nothing broken, just bruised."

In this room, aside from the leaf pile, there were two doors. They stood up, and tried the right one. They emerged on the other side of the weak floor they'd attempted to cross. There was a hole where they had fallen through.

"I really hope this isn't foreshadowing something." Alisaie commented. As they started to move on, a bug like monster meekly approached them. _Whimsun_ , something told Alphinaud.

He gestured for Alisaie to stand back. Time for him to prove himself! More information about Whimsun came to him, unbidden. _This monster is too sensitive to fight..._ He frowned. Why did he know this suddenly?

"I have no choice..." Whimsun said softly. She summoned a swirl of moths, that came flying at Alphinaud. He froze. Too sensitive to fight indeed! ...Wait a minute...

Some of the moths grazed Alisaie. She hissed and glared at Whimsun. "Hey!" She shouted, "What gives!?"

Whimsun freaked out. "I can't handle this!" She wailed. She summoned a group of moths, which encircled Alphinaud this time. He stood still. They didn't even touch him. He thought so. She wasn't even trying.

He reached out with a comforting hand to the hyperventilating monster. "He-" Whimsun burst into tears and ran away. Er... Alisaie approached from behind as he looked where Whimsun had vanished.

"Hey. She pointed towards the ground. "What's that?" Something on the ground sparkled. Alphinaud picked it up, holding it between his fingers.

"They're... gold coins. I think they belonged to her."

"Good luck trying to return them. Oh well, finders, keepers!"

He felt bad, but Alisaie was right in that it was unlikely they'd be able to return the coins. The coins were minted with the head of a goat-like monster with a beard and a horned helmet. Was this the king, he wondered? Then again, coins were often minted with the faces of other, non-ruler figures, so maybe not. Either way, it was currency, money, and there was no doubt they'd find use for that.

"Here." He took one of Alisaie's hands and dropped one of the coins in it. "That's your share."

"Thanks." They both placed the coins in their bags, and proceeded.

The cell phone rang as they reached the next room. Alphinaud retrieved it from his bag, and after hitting a few buttons, Toriel's voice came from the speakerphone,

"Hello, this is Toriel."

"Hi Toriel!" Alisaie chirped. "Did you need something?"

"Well... For no reason in particular...Which do you two prefer? Cinnamon or butterscotch?"

"Butterscotch." Alphinaud said.

"Cinnamon." Alisaie said at the same time. The twins glared at each other, the air crackling with tension.

On the other side of the line, Toriel chuckled, "Well, well... I have to ask, then. Neither you dislike the other option, do you?"

"I don't mind cinnamon at all." Alphinaud replied. "And Alisaie won't turn-up butterscotch if its served." His sister huffed, and he gave her look. It was nothing but the truth, and she knew it. She didn't say anything, but her eyes remained heated.

"Perfect! Thank you both for being patient, by the way. I shall see you later." Toriel hung up. Alphinaud slipped the phone back into his bag.

"Why do you assume I like butterscotch?" Alisaie asked.

"Because you indulged in those candies Grandfather liked to give us as much as I did. In fact, I distinctly remember you, a few years ago, sneaking into the kitchen to steal some." She cringed, unable to argue.

In this room, there was single grey rock, a floor switch, and a line of rocks. A sign hung on the nearby wall.

"'Three out of four grey rocks recommend you push them.'" Alphinaud read outloud.

Alisaie examined the rock, "'Three out of four'? What does that mean?"

"I have no clue."

She pushed the rock onto the floor switch. The spikes receded, allowing them to move on. However, the sign nagged at the back of Alphinaud's mind.

The next room had a crumbling floor, just like the one they'd fallen through earlier.

"Okay." Alphinaud said, "This time, let's be sure to walk across We don't want to fall through again."

Alisaie snorted, walking forward, "You don't have to tell me th-AAAH!" The floor gave way the second she stepped on it, sending her falling down with a yell. Ack, what did he just say!?

He kneeled by the the hole, leaning over it. "Alisaie! Are you alright?" No response. Worst case scenarios flashed through his mind. What if there weren't leaves down there this time? What if she'd broken something, or gotten concussed? "Alisaie!?"

"Over here, worrywort!" His head snapped over his shoulder. His twin emerged from a place in the wall, a few leaves stuck to her clothes. She picked them off. "I'm starting to sense a pattern."

He sighed in relief. Then his expression turned serious. "Didn't I just say to be careful?"

"Oh, hush. I learned something important down there. Namely, the solution to this puzzle." She walked near the hole where she'd fallen. "There's a sign downstairs that says 'Don't step on the leaves'. If I'm interpreting it correctly," She drew an imaginary line in the air, "Where the leaves are positioned downstairs indicate where it isn't safe to walk. So long as we avoid the parts of the floor with leaves underneath, we won't fall." She smirked, "I memorized the pattern while I was down there. Follow me."

Alphinaud kept close behind his sister as she led them across the floor, zigzagging in a very deliberate pattern. He followed her every step, not wanting to fall again. It was easy to forget, he thought, that underneath Alisaie's outbursts she was just as smart as he was. If she'd just learn to reign in that temper every once in awhile...

In the next room, there were three grey rocks, three switches, and a spiked bridge much like what Toriel had led them across. Seemed simple enough. He took one step, tripped over something, and fell to the floor with an 'oof'!

...He had to concur with Alissie's assessment about a pattern.

He twisted around. What he had tripped over was a line of mold-like monsters. _Moldsmal_. He struggled to his feet. _Stereotypical: Curvaceously attractive, but no brains..._

Attractive? How could anything like that be considered attractive? Although, he supposed if one looked at it in just the right way...

With a squelching sound, the Moldsmal released a series of spores. The spores exploded in several smaller ones. A few of them grazed him, and he hissed in pain. How was he going to resolve this one?

 _Flirt with it._ He frowned. Huh? _Flirt with it._ Fli-what!? How? As if of their own accord, his hips wiggled. The Moldsmals made slime sounds, and wiggled back. He couldn't quite articulate it, but it felt meaningful somehow.

More importantly, what the heck possessed him to do that!?

The Moldsmals gladly left them alone, slithering away to who knew where. Alisaie stared at him. "What the heck?" She managed after several seconds, echoing his own thoughts.

He groaned, "Don't ask. I don't even know."

"How can you not know?" She placed a hand on her hips, "You know, you've been a little... off, since we've fallen. First Froggit, then Moldsmal..."

"There was also Whimsun." He reminded her.

"Who?"

"That moth monster that ran off earlier."

"Whatever! The point is, how are you knowing this stuff? Once is nothing, twice is coincidence, three is a pattern. Is there something you're not telling me?"

He ran a hand through his bangs, "Kind of... There's been... a voice, I guess. Telling me things. Well, not so much a voice as an... instinctual feeling. Like I didn't know, but now I do. Back there, it came as a suggestion that just... came to me. And it became a sort of urge that I couldn't resist. ...You probably think I've lost it, huh?"

She placed a hand on her chin. "I'm certainly not ruling it out. But the thing is... The information you've gotten so far has been accurate, hasn't it? Those really were the monsters' names..."

"Among other things."

After a few moments, her hand fell back to her side. "I... don't know what to make of it, honestly. I'd say you cracked, but what you've learned so far has been true, so..." She shook her head.

"To be fair, I have no idea what to make of it either. I guess... We just have to trust it for now."

"I guess..."

They turned their attention back towards the puzzle. They pushed two of the rocks onto the switches. Alisaie went to push the third rock, while Alphinaud followed behind her. She placed a hand on it, and began to shove.

"WHOA there, pardner!" The rock, of all things, spoke! "Who said you could push me around?"

"Ack!" She flinched back. "S-sorry?"

"'Three out of four...'" Alphinaud muttered. He cleared his throat, "Excuse us, but we're trying to cross the bridge over there. Would you mind moving onto that switch long enough for them to vanish so we can cross?"

"HMM?" The rock said. "You're ASKING me to move?" After a moment's silence, it said, "Okay, just for you, pumpkin!" The rock slid across the ground, and onto the switch. The spikes vanished. Alphinaud bowed,

"Thank you."

"Not a problem!"

They crossed the bridge, into the next room. There was a mousehole, and a table with cheese. He paused near the table. Knowing the mouse might one day leave its hole and get the cheese... It filled him with resolve.

"Alphinaud?" He came out of his brief reverie and turned towards his sister. "You spaced out for a second."

"Sorry." He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. "Just lost in thought. Let's go."

* * *

 

In the next room there was a single, narrow passage. Said passage was blocked by... a ghost? Alisaie tilted her head. A bedsheet-like ghost rested on a pile of leaves in the middle of the room, coincidentally blocking their path.

The twins crept close. The ghost kept saying 'z' out loud repeatedly, pretending to sleep. "Are they gone yet." She heard it whisper.

Alisaie leaned over to whisper in Alphinaud's ear. "Which monster is this?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. Yet." He looked at the ghost "I think we have to try moving him." He cleared his throat, "Excuse me, but can you please move? We'd like to get through here." No response. The ghost kept pretending they weren't there.

After a moment, Alphinaud suddenly said, "Napstablook."

"Come again?" Alisaie asked.

"This monster is called Napstablook. And... he doesn't seem to have a sense of humor?"

"Oh, I'm REAL funny..." Napstablook murmured, having apparently heard them. Tears poured from the ghost's face. It was... crying?

One of the tears hit her. Yowch! That was an attack!? She hissed, "Hey! Why are you attacking us!?"

"Attacking...?" Napstablook moaned, "Oh, no... I'm not trying to attack anyone..."

What? She opened her mouth, only for Alphinaud to clap a hand over it. He ignored her glare, while he said, "I think he's telling the truth." His hand slid away. "Let me handle it."

Fine. She stepped back and watched. She didn't really pay attention to what her brother said, wary for more weaponized tears. Whatever her brother said earned a 'heh' from the ghost.

Her instinct proved right a moment later, as more tears flew towards them. Once she evaded, her brother said something, which brought a 'heh heh' from the ghost and MORE tears. Was Alphinaud sure he wasn't just making this worse!?

"Let me try..." The ghost said. Alisaie braced herself, as more tears appeared. But this time, they flowed upward. She cautiously approached, as the tears formed the shape of a fedora hat on the ghost's head.

"Oh wow, that's actually a neat trick." She commented.

"I call it 'dapper blook'..." Napstablook said, "Do you like it..."

"Yeah." She smiled. "I actually do."

"I think it's great." Alphinaud added.

Napstablook looked embarrassed, "Oh gee..." The hat vanished. "I usually come to the Ruins because there's nobody around..." He explained. "But today I met somebody nice... ... oh, I'm rambling again. I'll get out of your way."

Napstablook faded, finally leaving a clear path forward. Alisaie turned to her brother.

"Hey... You said he didn't mean to attack. What did you mean by that?"

He placed a hand on his chin, "It's hard to explain, but... I think it was just the nature of his tears. This is just my theory... But I don't think they would have hurt monsters."

"Are you saying... The monsters just being themselves can endanger us!?"

"I think so."

She sighed. This place was gradually growing more and more insane. But then, should she have expected anything less from the world of monsters?

Something yanked on her ponytail. She yelped in pain. The next thing she knew, her long white hair fell across her shoulders. She whirled around.

A monster with a single, huge eye held her ribbon in his hands. It chuckled. She glared at it.

"Give that back!" She demanded.

The monster cackled, "I don't think I will. It's MINE now!"

"Why you...!"

"Don't pick on me!" Its eye emitted sphere-like worms. She dove to the floor as they passed overhead. Don't pick on him... He didn't have the right to ask that after taking something of hers!

A hand grabbed her arm. Alphinaud. He gave her a look, then turned to the monster. "We aren't going to pick on you. Promise."

Something in the monster's position shifted. "Finally, someone gets it!" He lowered his hand, holding out the ribbon... Which was now torn to shreds, having been accidentally caught in the attack. "Oops... Sorry."

Alisaie sighed. "Forget about it." She took the remains of the ribbon from the monster's hand. After another apology and a reassurance from Alphinaud, the monster left. Alphinaud examined the ribbon in her hand. "What monster was that?" She asked.

"Loox. I don't think he'll be doing stuff like that anymore, though." He brushed at a few strands of Alisaie's hair, and smiled uneasily, "Well, look on the bright side. At least people will be able to tell us apart more easily now!"

She sighed.

* * *

 

_'Spider Bake Sale! Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders!'_

Alisaie admitted she had a few reservations, as a group of spiders climbed down with a jug. But she was thirsty and their water bottles were low. And she was curious about the 'spider cider' the spiders here were selling.

They had encountered more monsters on their way here. Mostly Froggits and Moldsmals. From each encounter, the monsters had dropped gold as they retreated. Leaving them with more than enough funds for the bake sale.

She took the jug of Spider Cider and popped open the lid. She sniffed it. Hm. She drank it, while Alphinaud watched warily.

"...Well?" He asked.

"...It's actually not half-bad!" There were a few flavors she was pretty sure she didn't want to recognize. But otherwise, it was very sweet, and not at all chunky like she'd feared. So long as one ignored the, er, ingredients, it was easy to believe it was just juice.

She offered the jug to her brother, "Try it."

He hesitated, and took it from her. He sipped it. "...Huh, not bad at all!"

He bought a jug for himself, and once their thirsts were sated, they bought one more for the road, plus left a little more as thanks. When the spiders crawled down with a donut with very visible black splotches, Alisaie raised a hand,

"Uh, we're good. Just consider that a straight-up donation for the cause. Whatever it is." She imagined the spiders shrugging at each other, before climbed back up the web with the donut.

"I thought you hated spiders." Alphinaud remarked, as they left the bake sale behind.

"What gave you that idea?" Alisaie asked.

"It's just that... I remember a few years ago, the girls you were hanging out found a big one. Everyone heard them screaming."

"Yeah, they freaked. Doesn't mean I was scared."

"So that wasn't you huddled in a corner with them trying to-"

"If you value your life, you won't finish that sentence."

He smirked, and she turned away. Okay, she had been scared! But in her defense, not only had that thing been huge, she had recognized it as poisonous. And that had been a while ago. Just a few weeks ago, she'd found a spider in her room and had released it outside without drama.

In another room, they met three more Froggits. Two of them rambled on about things neither of the twins really understood. ("What's [X]?" "I... don't actually know myself. _Ribbit_.) The third, however, talked about something interesting.

" _Ribbit, ribbit_. I have heard you are quite merciful, for humans.. Remember, sparing is just saying you won't fight. Maybe one day, you'll have to do it even if they still wish to fight..."

"Sparing someone who hasn't given up fighting..." Alphinaud crossed his arms, "That would require a lot of conviction on our part. I wonder if we'd be able to do it..."

Alisaie bit her lip. She wasn't sure. Ever since Alphinaud had declared they were doing this without killing anyone, it had come with the footnote of 'unless we don't have any other choice.' But... 'kill or be killed'. Would that flower be proven right in the end? How far was she willing to go to prove it wrong?

Argh! Maybe she shouldn't think about it. It was twisting her brain into pretzels.

The next room had weak spots in the floor, much like they had encountered before. Spikes blocked the exit, and a sign hung on the wall.

"'There is just one switch.'" Alisaie read outloud. She glanced around, "...I don't see a switch."

Alphinaud scanned the room. "I hate to say it, but... I think we have to..."

Yeah, she was definitely going to be sore tomorrow. She exhaled, "Alright, I'll try that one over there."

"Alright, then I'll try that one."

She walked towards one of the weak spots in the floor, while Alphinaud walked towards another. As before, the foot gave way.

She tried to land gracefully. She failed. A pile of leaves broke her fall. "Oof!"

She sat up, combing leaves and dirt from her hair using her fingers. Stupid Loox, why did he have to destroy her ribbon!? Her hair was going to be in awful shape by the end of this. She didn't see a switch. Nuts. But there was... a ghost? And one she recognized at that!

"Napstablook!?" She got to her feet, and leaned over the ghost, "What are you doing here? What happened?"

"I fell down a hole... now I can't get up..." The ghost moaned.

"Uh..." Alisaie flipped open her messenger bag, pulling her grimoire out halfway, "Do you need healing?"

"No... Don't bother... Go on without me..."

Out of curiosity, Alisaie poked him. Her finger went right through. Incorporeal. He likely wasn't even hurt. "Um, just a question, but can your kind of ghost fly?"

"I can fly..." A pause. "Oh..."

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked.

"Don't worry yourself over me... I'm going home now..."

He slowly vanished. Alisaie looked at the spot where he was with a touch of concern. Hopefully he would make it back home okay.

She climbed back up using the nearby stairs. Alphinaud waited for her.

"No luck for me." He said. "How about you?"

"Nope. But I did happen to find Napstablook. He fell down there and, er, forgot he could fly. He's on his way back home now. I'm a little worried about him, though."

"I am too. But there's not really anything we can do about it right n-Ack!"

What looked like a pair of carrots with grinning faces popped out of the ground. "Eat your greens! Contains Vitamin A! Farmed locally, very locally!"

Alphinaud crashed into Alisaie, who stumbled backwards, grabbing his shoulders. He regained his bearings and stepped forward, intent on handling the monsters. She stepped back, hoping to get clear of any potential attacks...

...Only to step right on a weak floor spot behind her.

She yelped, falling backwards. She landed, back first, onto the leaves below. Ow.

That... was not her finest moment. She sat up, taking a quick stock of the room. No switch here. Drat. As she stood to her feet, she spotted something on the ground nearby.

It was a faded ribbon. She picked it up, and examined it. It was old, but still perfectly usable. Huh, she guessed she was lucky! In a few minutes, she'd pulled her hair back into the ponytail using the ribbon. It was still filthy from her falls, and she would need a wash later. But at least it wouldn't get much worse.

She emerged above. The vegetables were gone, and Alphinaud smiled upon seeing her.

"Hey! Your hair is back!"

"Yeah." She twirled the end of her ponytail around her finger. "Believe it or not, I found a ribbon I could use down there. Still no switch, though. How were the monsters?"

The Vegetoids? They were fine." Vegetoids were what they were called, huh? Alphinaud glanced around the room. "I guess I'll take the honor of trying the next hole. Cross your fingers."

She watched, as he approached the hole. He fell through with a 'Whoa!' After a few minutes, there was a 'click', and the spikes blocking the way vanished. Alphinaud emerged a few seconds later. "Found the switch."

"Obviously. Let's move on, already."

* * *

 

"Wow..."

"Careful." Alphinaud warned, as his sister leaned over the railing. A large stone balcony of sorts overlooked the ruins of a truly massive city. Home. The monsters' old capital. If they looked closely enough, they could see a small smattering of monsters roaming the streets, the few that now inhabited the city as Toriel had said.

The rest of their journey has been relatively uneventful. A clever puzzle involving some colored switches and pillars. A monster named Migsop who had turned out to be quite friendly when alone. And, to their relief, there hadn't been anymore falling puzzles.

According to the Froggit just outside the door behind them, Toriel has emerged from here carrying groceries. To one side, a set of steps led down to a path, which connected to the streets of the city. Alphinaud was strongly tempted to follow it and explore the rest of Home.

A gleam caught his eye. He turned away from the balcony. On the ground, was a toy knife. He picked it up, balancing it in his hands.

"What did you find, Brother?" Alisaie asked.

He showed her the knife. "This." She came closer to examine it.

"...A toy knife? What's this doing here?"

He shrugged, "Who knows." He slipped it into his bag. One never knew, it might come in handy.

Alisaie gazed longingly at the ruins of Home. "...I really want to explore. There must be all kinds of interesting stuff down there..."

"I want to explore too. But you heard Froggit. Toriel's probably on her way back right now. And..." He stretched, "...I think we've done more then enough exploring today."

"Finally tired of satisfying your curiosity, huh?" She yawned. "It has been a ridiculously long day... Hopefully Toriel has someplace we can stay."

In mutual agreement, the twins left the ruins of Home behind them. They had someone waiting for them, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its worth mentioning this is story in general is actually a second draft. I went out of my way to write (most of) the first draft before even posting this story. It should say something that I still had to re-write the Napstablook fight several more times. Oh well, at least its over with.
> 
> I hope the next chapter won't take as long, but I full expect it will be even longer than this chapter. Its going to be a whopper.


	3. Toriel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reason for the delay was a combination of injury that kept me from my computer and Internet trouble. On the bright side, this is the longest chapter yet, and hopefully worth the wait.

Toriel's house wasn't far from Home. It was a quaint house in the Ruins, a tree with dead leaves scattered around its base out front.

"...How do you think this even grows down here?" Alisaie wondered out loud, gazing up at the tree. Its trunk was black, and its branches completely bare. "There's no sunlight for photosynthesis." Come to think of it, they had also seen vines and other plants while exploring. It was odd. Caves weren't exactly known for their flora.

"Plants don't necessarily need sunlight." Alphinaud replied. "There are types of plants that grow in low light. Have you noticed how well-lit the Ruins are? Its more then enough for some things to grow. That said," He rested a hand on the trunk, "Every time this tree grows new leaves, they immediately fall off. I don't think its exactly thriving."

"...Wait. How do you know that? ...The 'voice' again?"

"Er... Yeah..."

So it knew more then just information about monsters. What _was_ it, anyhow?

A familiar voice came from behind them. "Oh dear, that took longer than I thought it would."

They turned around. Toriel came up behind them, looking anxious. She pulled out her cellphone, dialing a number.

"Toriel?" Alisaie ventured. Toriel's head snapped in their direction, her expression morphing into one of shock. She ran up to them.

"How did you get here, my childen?" She asked.

"I'm sorry!" Alisaie blurted. "I wanted to wait, but Alphinaud insisted on exploring. I followed him in case something happened. I'm really, really sorry!"

"Its alright, my dear." Toriel soothed. "Are either of you hurt?"

"A bit scuffed up..." Alphinaud admitted, "We took a few falls while exploring."

Toriel made a distressed noise. She placed a paw on each of them, and there was a gentle glow. The growing ache in Alisaie's muscles drained away. "I should not have left you two alone for so long." Toriel continued. "It was irresponsible to try to surprise you like this."

"'Surprise us'?" Alisaie echoed.

Toriel blinked, then smiled sheepishly, "Err... Well, I suppose I cannot hide it any longer. Come, small ones!"

They followed her towards the house. Alphinaud halted just outside, suddenly focused intently on a leaf pile outside the house. Alisaie paused half through the doorway, and leaned out. "Alphinaud?"

He snapped his head up, "Oh, sorry! I'm coming!"

She stepped inside, and was immediately assaulted by a wonderful smell. The house, to her surprise, was indistinguishable from a modern home on the surface. Hardwood floors, a living room to their right, and a hallway to their left with a series of doors. In the living room, she glimpsed a couch, a chair, and even a fireplace.

Toriel wore a wide smile. "Do you smell that?" She stretched out her arms, "Surprise! It is a butterscotch- cinnamon pie. I thought we might celebrate your arrival. I want you to have a nice time living here. So I will hold off on snail pie for tonight."

"It smells amazing, Toriel." Alisaie took a deep whiff. The sweet scent reminded her of the blueberry pie the cook back home used to make. She felt a pang of homesickness, but promptly squashed it.

Alphinaud glanced around, "This... isn't quite what I expected."

Toriel's smile lessened, "It isn't?"

He threw up his hands, "I-I don't mean that in a bad way! Its just... This looks like a human house. A modern human house, even. How is that even possible? Hasn't the Underground been cut off from the outside world?"

"I see now. It is true we're trapped down here, but we aren't completely isolated. We have a way of recieving things from the world above, which allows us to have the comforts and conveniences you humans do."

"And that way would be...?"

Toriel winked, "That is a story for another day. Come! I have another surprise for you both!" She took the twins' hands in each of her own. Then suddenly froze. "Alisaie... That ribbon you're wearing..."

"This?" Alisaie rested a hand on the ribbon. "A monster destroyed my old one, but I happened to find this while exploring the Ruins. Its old, but its better then nothing." Toriel's gaze grew distant, as she gazed at the ribbon. "Toriel?"

Toriel shook her head, and smiled. "Apologies. I was just thinking." She led them down the hallway to the right, and stopped before a pair of doors. "Surprise! A room for each of you! Alisaie has the one on the left, and Alphinaud has the one on the right. I hope you like them!"

Toriel rested a paw on each of their heads. Alisaie basked under the affection. But Alphinaud seemed uneasy. What was his problem?

...Okay, she admitted this was getting to be a bit much. But Toriel was just being nice, wasn't she? Giving them a place to stay while they figured out their next move.

"By any chance, do you have a shower?" Alisaie asked. "I really want to clean up." Their foray up the mountain, followed by tromping through the Ruins had left her with a layer of dirt and grime. On top of that, the time with her hair undone had left it in _awful_ shape.

"Of course!" Toriel pointed. "Down the hall and to your right. There should be shampoo and a soap bar. The water is heated using magic, so take as long as you need." She paused, then sniffed the air. "Is something burning...? Um, make yourselves at home!" She rushed off.

As Toriel said, there was a bathroom, lacking a toilet sadly, but with a perfectly usable shower and sink. After about an hour, she emerged, feeling clean and refreshed. Much better! She'd also jacked one of several hairbrush from under the sink. She suspected Toriel wouldn't mind.

She rapped at the door to Alphinaud's room as she passed. "Bathroom's open if you need to clean up." She then entered the room Toriel had designated as 'hers'. Despite the bed practically calling her name, she took a few minuted to poke around, dropping her bag in one corner.

It was smaller then her room back home, yet still quite cozy. There were stuffed animals on one side of the bed, and a wardrobe. When she checked it, he'd found a various mishmash of clothes. There was a shoebox of shoes of various sizes, and an empty, dusty picture frame on top of a shelf.

At the foot of the bed, there was a toybox. Inside, there were various, well-made toys... None of which interested her in the slightest. Neither she nor her brother had really been one for things 'normal' for their age. They preferred reading, studying, exploring the world around them.

Why did Toriel have these things? There was no way she'd gotten them just for Alisaie and Alphinaud. The layers of dusty suggested their history went much farther back. Did Toriel... Did Toriel use to have kids of her own? ...If so, what happened to them?

Alisaie shut the toybox. She shouldn't think about it. She needed sleep.

She flopped on the bed, and pulled the covers up. Exhaustion overtook her, and she soon fell asleep.

* * *

Alphinaud couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned, but tiredness from earlier had abandoned him. Giving up, he climbed out of bed.

The room he was in had recently been rennovated, and so was bare of anything aside from a bed and a wardrobe. As a result, it held absolutely nothing of interest to him. He exited the room, and headed down the hallway. There were stairs leading down, but a rope with a sign that read 'Please Do Not Enter' was stretched across the entrance.

In the living room, he immediately gravitated towards the nearby bookshelf, and scanned the various titles. A book about snails, a cookbook... A history book! He slipped the history book off the shelf and flipped it open to a random page.

'Trapped behind the barrier and fearful of further human attacks, we retreated. Far, far into the earth we walked, until we reached the cavern's end. This was our new home, which we named... 'Home.' As great as our king is, he is pretty lousy at names.'

This was fascinating. He settled on the nearby couch, book in hand, and continued to read. According to this, after being sealed, the monsters were terrified the humans would pursue them and finish the job. That was... odd. He knew firsthand a monster's magic was nothing to be trifled with. What had happened during the war, to leave the monsters so wary of humans?

"Oh, Alphinaud." He looked up from his reading. Toriel stood at the kitchen entrance, drying her paws with a towel. "I thought I heard someone. What are you doing up, little one?"

"I can't sleep." He admitted, "So I came out here to find something to do. Is that alright?"

"Of course it is." Toriel looked thoughtful, "Hm... The pie hasn't finished cooling yet. How about I get you something to drink?" She retreated into the kitchen, and returned with a glass of juice. She placed it on the table, "There you go, my child."

"Thank you..." He drank the juice. When he finished, he placed the now-empty glass on the table. Toriel sat next to him, while he returned to the history book.

"What are you reading?" She asked.

"A history book." He didn't look up. "Its really interesting. It tells a bit of the aftermath of the human-monster war, Home, and about the Ruins. Though you probably already know that."

"You like reading?"

"I love reading. Both me and Alisaie do. We practically lived in the library back home before we left for university."

"Well, lucky for you both, I have lots of old books I want to share. This may come as a surprise to you, but I have always wanted to be a teacher." A pause. "Actually, perhaps that isn't very surprising. Still, I'd love for the opportunity to work with such intelligent children like yourselves."

"I'm not sure how much you could teach us. We outpaced our own tutors early on, and Grandfather took over overseeing most of our studies."

"Your grandfather?"

"Louisoix Leveilluer." Alphinaud lifted his head from the book, staring at nothing in particular as a smile crept onto his face. "The most prominent sage and scholar where we come from. He's renown even beyond our country for his knowledge and wisdom. Alisaie and I really look up to him!"

Toriel chuckled, "I can tell. He sounds like a wonderful person."

"He really is..." And there was every chance they would never see him again. The thought twisted his stomach in awful ways, so he returned his attention to the book.

A silence fell. He continued re no use putting it . Toriel seemed content just with his company. After a while, he decided there was He shut the book, focusing on the cover as he spoke.

"Hey, Toriel. Can I ask you a question?"

"What did I say before? You are free to ask as many questions as you like."

That didn't necessarily mean they could inquire about anything. "You've said other humans have fallen down here." 'What happened to them?' "What... kind of humans were they?"

The question he really wanted to ask stuck in his throat, allowing another to slip free. Maybe because the answer was likely painful. ...Maybe because a part of him already knew, and he didn't want confirmation. Like Schodingr's Cat. You didn't know whether it was alive or dead until you opened the box.

"A great variety." Toriel replied, "Au ra, Miqo'te, Lalafell, Hyur..."

"So you DO know there are other, er, kinds of us. I was wondering about that..." Monsters, most never having seen a human before, struck him as being easily confused by the idea of the various races. The draconic Au ra, the cat-like Miqo'te, the small Lalafell, the rather plain Hyur, and of course, Elezen like himself. It might be hard for some to grasp they were all considered 'human'.

"Of course I do. I know quite a bit about humans compared to other monsters. But..." Toriel's eyes unfocused, "I will say, you're the first Elezen to fall down here since..."

He finally faced her. "Since...?"

She ruffled his hair, "Oh, never mind. Do no concern yourself over it."

He batted her hand out of the way, and blew stray hair from his face. Urgh, she acted like his mother... Which was exactly the problem.

He turned away, and looked down. "Can I talk about something... Really personal?"

"Go ahead, my child. You can talk to me about anything"

Somehow, he doubted that. Still, he said, "Well, I think you should know... We never knew our mother. Our real one, I mean. She died when we were little. Well, littler. We were mainly raised by our father, grandfather, and our household servants."

Toriel raised a paw to her mouth, "Oh..."

"Father never liked talking about her, and we eventually gave up asking. We know some things about her, thanks to Grandfather and the servants, but that's obviously different from knowing her..."

In addition, whispers around the household said Father had never been the same after his wife's death. There was no denying he could be somewhat aloof. Their grandfather had been their main source of familial warmth.

"I'm telling you this because Alisaie's gotten really attatched to you, despite the fact we haven't really known you that long. And I have a pretty good idea why. I think... A part of Alisaie has always wanted to know what having a mother was like. And then, you came, acting like one to us, treating us like we're you're own children... Its no wonder she's smitten."

"I had no idea." Toriel said in a hushed tone, "You poor dears..."

He finally met her eyes and blinked at her use of the plural. "Huh? What do you mean? I'm mainly talking about Alisaie. And even then, its not really something we grieved about."

"But you wish you'd known her, don't you?"

It took him several moments to reply. "...Sometimes. I guess. But there's no use pining over what you can never have, right? That's how I think of it, anyway."

"You can never really know your real mother, that's true... But that doesn't mean you can never know what having one is like."

Something caught in his throat, and he looked away again. Toriel rested a paw on his shoulder, "How about I show you one of my favorite books? We can read it together."

She took the history book from him, and went towards the bookshelf. She returned bearing another book. "Here. Its an old story we monsters often tell. There have been versions of it since before the war, I believe." Settling on the couch, she opened the book on her lap. Alphinaud scooted over to look, as she started to read out loud.

Eventually, his earlier tiredness returned. Toriel's words became distant. He became aware of her soft fur, and how warm she was. He leaned against her, closing his eyes.

Surely she wouldn't mind if he just lay like this for a few minutes...

* * *

Toriel smiled at the young boy sleeping against her. Careful not to wake him, she placed the book to one side and lifted him into her arms. He stirred, as she carried him into his room. She tucked him into bed, and he immediately slipped back into a deep sleep.

* * *

Alisaie woke up. For a second, she thought she was back at home. Then, she thought she was in her dorm at school. Then, the rest of her memories flooded back. Oh, right...

She sat up, and stretched. She had slept great! It was exactly was she'd needed after everything yesterday.

A plate with a slice of pie lay on the floor. She climbed out of bed, picked it up, and sat back down with it. She used the fork provided and took a bite.

Delicious!

The homesickness from last night started to return as she finished. Normally, by now, she and Alphinaud would be preparing for classes. A few older students had been charged with looking after them, waking them up, ensuring they got ready, and that they were on time. Oh, and making sure they stayed out of trouble.

She grimaced. She and Alphinaud gave their guardians the slip when they decided to climb Mt. Ebott. They must have felt so guilty after realizing they'd vanished...

Shaking her head of the thoughts, she grabbed her bag, and exited the room. She went past the stairs, and entered the living room.

A fire crackled in the fireplace. Toriel sat in the chair by it, wearing reading glasses and reading a book. She lifted her head when Alisaie entered.

"Up already, I see. Did you sleep well?"

"Like a log." Alisaie said, coming closer. "What are you reading, Toriel?"

"'72 Uses for Snails.' Are you interested?"

"Sure!" Alisaie came over, and leaned against the chair's armrest as Toriel tiled the book so she could see. 'Use Number 65: Snail Racing.' "Do people actually race snails?" She asked.

"Of course. In fact, there's a snail farm I used to visit that holds races all the time. It was quite exciting."

They continued reading together in pleasant silence. Eventually, Alphinaud entered the living room, eyes down cast.

Alisaie glanced up, "Morning, Alphinaud."

"Good morning." He didn't lift his head.

"Is something wrong?" Alisaie asked. He was usually more... peppy in the mornings.

"Toriel." He finally said. "When can we go home?"

Toriel blinked, "What? This... this IS your home now."

What? A pit formed in Alisaie's stomach, sapping away her good mood. She retreated to her brother's side. "'Our home now'? I assumed we were just... staying until we figured out what to do next."

"Um... Have you seen use number 42 for snails? Using their shells as a decoration?"

"You're changing the subject." Alphinaud's voice took on a cold edge. Uh oh, he was getting mad. "How do we leave the Ruins? How do we get home?"

"How about an exciting snail fact? Did you know that snails have a chainsaw-like tongue called a radula?"

"TORIEL!"

Alisaie startled. Toriel froze. Alphinaud's fist clenched at his side as he looked at Toriel with heated eyes.

Yeep. Alisaie couldn't remember the last time her brother had yelled like that.

Toriel shut her book, placing it on the table next to her. She removed her reading glasses, setting them by the tome. She rose to her feet. "...I have to do something. Stay here." Without another word, she brushed past the twins, and left the living room.

Alphinaud slowly relaxed, his fist unclenching. He glanced at Alisaie, "Sorry. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that."

Alisaie shook her head. "Its okay. I didn't realize... That she intended for us to be here permanently."

"You 'didn't realize'?"

"I mean, I suspected, but I thought... She knew we'd want to go home eventually."

"...I know you really like Toriel. I do too. And I agree she's only acting according to what she believes is best for us. 'What she believes' being the phrase, unfortunetly. Do you believe staying here forever is best for us?"

"Of course not!" Alisaie exclaimed. "As interesting as this place is, its only a matter of time before the novelty wears off. Its too cramped to spend the rest of our lives here. I'd go insane." She bowed her head, "But..."

"But what?"

"Well, we still don't know what happened to the other humans, right? What if... What if she's only trying to protect us? In the best way she can think of."

"...Maybe. ...I need to go do something real fast. Then... I think I know where she went."

* * *

Alisaie's heart pounded, as she and Alphinaud descended the stairs. Beneath the house, was a long tunnel, made of the same stone as the rest of the Ruins. This was much older then Toriel's house. Likely, she had built over it.

Toriel stood a short distance ahead, her back turned to them.

"You both wish to know how to return 'home,' do you not?" Alisaie's heart clenched at Toriel's frosty tone. "Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins. A one-way exit to the rest of the underground.

"I am going to destroy it."

"Wha-" Alisaie's eyes widened. "Why!?"

"So that no one will ever be able to leave again. Now be good children and go upstairs."

"Toriel, wa-" Alphinaud began, but Toriel walked ahead as if she didn't hear him. He looked at Alisaie, "We have to stop her, come on!"

He ran ahead. Alisaie hesistated, before following. They caught up with Toriel down the hallway. Toriel spoke again.

"Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave. They die."

"That's... That's what happened to the other humans?" Alisaie asked.

"That ribbon you are wearing..." Toriel said. Alisaie's hand shot to her ponytail. "It once belonged to a Lalafell who fell down here... She was... She insisted on striking out on her own. And then...

"If you leave the Ruins... They... Asgore... Will kill you. I am only protecting you, do you understand? ... go to your rooms."

Toriel turned a corner. The twins remained where they were.

"So she _was_ protecting us..." Alisaie said softly, hand still resting on her ribbon.

"Even so..." Alphinaud said, "This isn't the way to do it." He tugged Alisaie's sleeve, and led her down the hallway. They found Toriel around a corner.

"Do not try to stop me." Toriel said. "This is your final warning." She walked ahead again.

What would happen if they continued, Alisaie wondered? Dread formed in the pit of her stomach, as trailed her brother around the corner and towards the end of the hallway.

They found Toriel standing in front of a door. It had to be the Ruin exit. Through that door... Was the path home, if they wanted to take it.

Alphinaud stepped forward. "Toriel..."

"You want to leave so badly?" Toriel 'hmph'ed. "You are just like the others. There is only one solution to this. Prove yourselves... Prove to me you are strong enough to survive."

She turned around, and a unleashed a wall of fire.

* * *

Alisaie grabbed her brother and yanked him out of the way. She flinched as a flame caught on her sleeve. But instead of catching fire, the flame faded, not even leaving a singe mark.

"Toriel, please!" Alisaie begged. "We don't want to fight you!"

Toriel didn't respond. She stared right through them, with no trace of her previous warmth.

"I... I can't think of anything to say." Alphinaud said. "There's... literally nothing I can do!"

"What about the voice?" Alisaie asked. Surely, it had some way? But her brother shook his head. Of all the times...

They could run. But if they did, Toriel would destroy the exit. They would be trapped here forever. Father, the people at the Stadium... Grandfather. They'd never see them again.

Everything else fell away, as she focused on that one thought. She wanted to go _home_. _"Prove yourselves strong enough to survive."_

"There's one thing we can do." Alisaie said. She drew her grimoire from her bag. Alphinaud's eyes widened.

"But... We shouldn't...!" He yelped, pushing himself and Alisaie out of the way of another blast of fire.

"What are choice do we have? She's going to keep going until we turn back... Or..." Would Toriel go so far as to kill them? It... wasn't impossible. In her mind, they were dead either way if they left the Ruins. Kill or be killed. Flowey's words echoed. Her grip on her grimoire tightened.

"I'm not going to kill her... I just... need to show her we can take care of ourselves out there." She could do that. She squeaked, dragging her brother down with her as more fire passed overhead.

Alphinaud closed his eyes, "Alright. But you'll have to do it. You've always been better in these situations."

She nodded. Standing to her feet, she opened the grimoire and concentrated. Light shone around her, as she performed the spell.

A fox-like creature popped into existence. It had blue-green fur, a trio of bushy tails, and a single, red gem embedded in its forehead. Carbuncle. A magical familiar that all mages learned to summon.

Toriel looked at Carbuncle in surprise and confusion. Her face snapped back to its emotionless state, and she released another wave of fire. Carbuncle leapt in the air and unleashed a powerful gust of wind. What flames weren't extinguished scattered, harmlessly fading a moment later.

Alisaie smirked. This evened the odds a bit.

"I'll show you how strong I am!" She drew upon her magic, the grimoire humming with power.

The spell hit Toriel, and she staggered backwards. Carbuncle took the cue and began attacking. Toriel's counter-attack came quickly, as flames flew towards Alisaie. Within moments, the room transformed into a flurry of magic.

It wasn't long before Alisaie started to feel drained. She didn't have the stamina for longer fights. Her magic would run out if this dragged on, and then where they be?

Luckily, it seemed Toriel was wearing down as well. Her robes were torn, and her fur ragged. Yet she still persisted. How much more? Alisaie wondered.

Wind slammed Toriel, and the monster stumbled. "Carbuncle! Steady!" Alisaie commanded. Her familiar ceased its attack, glancing backwards at its master. Alisaie looked at Toriel. "Have we proven ourselves yet?"

Toriel didn't respond. The moment she regained her balance, she cast more fire. Alisaie lifted an arm as the heat seared her. She winced. Just a bit more, then. If she could just render Toriel unable to fight... She summoned what little magic she had left, and threw it at Toriel

The moment the spell hit, she knew she'd overdone it.

Toriel kneeled over in pain, clutching at her chest. She panted, "Urgh... You are stronger than I thought..."

"T...TORIEL!"

It wasn't Alisaie's voice... But Alphinaud's. He dashed over to Toriel's side. Alisaie remained where she was, frozen. Carbuncle nudged her leg. She gasped. What... What did she just do!?

Stuffing her grimoire in her bag, she ran over, kneeling on Toriel's other side, while he brother spoke in a panicked tone. "S-stay with us, Toriel!" He flipped open his bag, reaching in for his own grimoire. "I can he-"

A gentle paw rested over his hand. Toriel gave him a painful smile. His face fell.

Alisaie found her voice. "I-I'm sorry!" She choked, "I-I didn't mean...!"

Toriel shook her head, still smiling. "Its... alright... my dear. Its my fault... for underestimating you..." Her voice grew serious. "Listen to me, small ones... If you go beyond this door, Keep walking as far as you can. Eventually, you will reach an exit." She gasped, falling forward. The twins grabbed her, supporting her.

"...Asgore..." Toriel's voice grew weaker, "Do not let Asgore take your souls. His plan cannot be allowed to succeed." Alisaie's grip on Toriel tightened. Plan? What plan? She didn't understand!

Toriel looked between the twins, and managed one last, genuine smile. "Be good, won't you? My children..."

With those final words, Toriel crumbled into dust.

Alisaie gasped, shooting to her feet. The dust... It was everywhere! On the ground, all over clothes, on her hands... She wiped at her clothes. It only seemed to make it worse, dust filling the air, settling on her in a fine layer.

She stumbled backwards, hitting the wall. Air... She needed air! But every breath inhaled dust, coating throat, her lungs... She coughed, sinking to the ground. Her breaths came in short, rapid gasps. It was dusty, hurt, and caused her to cough so hard her chest hurt.

Her heart pounded in her ears. Was she going to die, she wondered? Suffocated by the dust pervading the air. A fitting fate, a part of her thought morbidly.

"...ALISAIE!"

Her head lifted to meet the worried eyes of her brother, who knelt next to her. He was covered in dust as well, but seemed far more concerned with his twin.

"...The dust..." She managed, coughing again.

"I know." He rubbed her back. After a few minutes, her pulse slowed. The dust tickled the back of her throat, but no longer felt suffocating. She took a deep breath, only to cough upon inhaling more dust. She covered her mouth.

"...We should go where there's fresh air." Alphinaud placed a hand on her arm. They rose as one, and he guided her to the door leading from the tunnel. Before they entered, Alisaie glanced over her shoulder, at the large pile of dust. Tears pricked her eyes, and she closed them, allowing her brother to lead her through the door.

On the other side, was another long hallway. About halfway down it, Alisaie stumbled, leaning against her brother. A sob escaped her, "I... I didn't mean to...!"

Alphinaud hugged her tight. She buried her face in his shoulder, and broke down. She wailed, her cries echoing down the hallway.

Beyond the other end of the hallway, was a dim room. And in the center, was a familiar flower.

"You." Alisaie said through clenched teeth.

Flowey snickered, "I hope you like your choice. After all, it's not as if you can go back and change fate. In this world, it's kill or be killed. That old hag thought she could break the rules. She tried so hard to save you humans. But when it came down to it..." It cackled, "Hee hee... SHE COULDN'T EVEN SAVE HERSELF. WHAT AN IDIOT!"

Okay. That was IT! Alisaie lunged forward. Alphinaud grabbed her arms, restraining her. She struggled against his grip. "Let me go! I'm going to uproot that thing and throw it into the nearest fire!"

"Oh, you can try." Flowey said, "I'm looking forward to it. For all the good it will do you!" It laughed madly, then vanished beneath the earth.

Alphinaud released Alisaie. She rounded on him, "Why did you stop me!?"

"Because it wouldn't have done any good!" He snapped back. His voice softened, "I know you're upset... I'm upset too. But... I think there's been enough violence for one day. Don't you think so too?"

She faltered, and looked at the ground. "...You're right. I guess... I hate that flower. I really, really hate it."

"If it helps, I don't really like him either." A pause. "But as much as I hate to admit it... He was right, in the end. So were you. You said we might one day not be given a choice but to fight. I... I started off so determined to get through this peacefully... Next time... It likely won't even be someone as nice as Toriel. If we keep persisting in resolving things peacefully, when its just not an option... we're liable to get killed."

"I didn't want to be proven right..." Alisaie sniffed. "Not like that..."

"I know you didn't. But... Maybe it was for the best."

"How was killing Toriel for the best!?" She screamed. Her voice bounced off the walls.

Alphinaud didn't respond. He reached for her hand, and tugged on it. She grasped it, and allowed him to lead her through the arch exit.

The image of Toriel dying replayed itself over and over again. A straggled sob escaped her. She didn't want Toriel to die! She'd wanted her to live! All she'd wanted was to show her they could survive!

She was drowning, dying in her grief. A single thought surged through her mind. A wish, that she poured her willpower into, as if wishing hard enough would cause it to manifest. It crystalized into a single, all-consuming desire. Her brother, the world, and even her body faded from awareness, as it enveloped all that she was.

_I don't want things to be this way!_

* * *

Her eyes opened.

She was back at Toriel's house, standing at the top of the stairs leading down.

Wha-

Her brother entered from the outside. "I'm finished. Let's go." He stopped, noticing Alisaie's strange expression, "Is something wrong...?"

"I..." She stumbled over her thoughts. "How did we get back here?"

Alphinaud frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"We... We left, didn't we? We went downstairs... Then Toriel... Don't you remember?"

His frown deepened, "I don't have any idea what you're talking about." He approached her, and placed a hand over her forehead, "Are you getting sick? Stress can compromise your immune system, you know."

She batted his hand away, and leaned against the railing of the stairs with both hands. This... This didn't make any sense! She'd never felt more disoriented in her life. "What... What were we doing?" She asked. Alphinaud gave her an odd look. "Just... humor me! Please?"

"...We were about to follow Toriel downstairs, remember?"

"We were...?" Now she remembered. This was right after Alphinaud had said he needed to 'do something.' She'd waited for him here while he had stepped outside.

'Had' being the key word. This had already happened... hadn't it?

She looked at him. "You said... Toriel was downstairs... right?"

"I'm pretty su-woah!"

She grabbed her brother's hand, and dragged him downstairs with her. Please, please, please, let this mean what she thought it meant! The stairs, like before, led down to an old stone tunnel. And, not far from them was...

"Toriel..." She breathed.

"You both wish to know how to return 'home,' do you not?" Toriel spoke those same words, in that same cold tone. "Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins. A one-way exit to the rest of the underground. I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be good children and go upstairs."

"Toriel, wa-" Alphinaud reached with one hand, but Toriel walked ahead as if she didn't hear him. He looked at Alisaie, "We have to stop her, come on! ...Alisaie?"

Toriel... Was still alive. Everything that had happened after they'd followed her downstairs... Hadn't. A dream? Some horrible vision of what could be? No, it didn't matter. If things were truly the same, then she's been given a second chance. This time... She could do things differently. She could do things _right_.

She led the way down the hallway this time.

"Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave. They die. That ribbon you're wearing... It once belonged to a Lalafell who fell down here... She was... She insisted on striking out on her own. And then...

"You naive childen... If you leave the Ruins...They... Asgore... Will kill you. I am only protecting you, do you understand? ... go to your rooms."

It wasn't completely the same. That could be chalked up to a lack of reaction on Alisaie's part. But it was close enough. Close enough to give her hope.

"Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning."

They reached the exit to the Ruins. Alisaie felt herself grow nervous. If things went the way before... Then soon they would fight. But this time... There had to be some way to ensure Toriel would live. Some way to show mercy, without fighting or running away. There _had_ to be.

"You want to leave so badly? Hmph. You are just like the others. There is only one solution to this. Prove yourselves... Prove to me you are strong enough to survive."

Toriel turned, then halted, her brow furrowing. "... Wait ... why are you looking at me like that? Like you have seen a ghost. Do you know something that I do not?" Alisaie gulped. "No... That is impossible."

As before, Toriel released a wall of fire towards them.

As before, Alisaie grabbed her brother's sleeve and yanked them both out of the way.

"I... I can't think of anything to say." Alphinaud said. "There's... literally nothing I can do!"

"And the voice isn't any help, right?" Alisaie said.

He looked at her in disbelief. "How did...?"

Because she'd been through this before. She couldn't explain how, but she had. As she watched Toriel, she considered telling her that she'd watched her die. But... That was creepy.

The answer came to her in a flash. What that Froggit had said. That, one day, they might have to persist in not fighting, when the other still wanted to. She'd dismissed at the time, doubting her own conviction. But now...

"There's one thing we can do." Alisaie said. She drew her grimoire from her bag...

...And placed it on the ground, sliding it across the ground towards the nearby wall. She straightened, looking the shocked Toriel straight in the eye.

"What are you doing?" Toriel demanded, summoning a burst of fire. "Attack or run away!" Alisaie hissed in pain as some of the flames caught her. Alphinaud, meanwhile, realized what she was doing. He removed his own grimoire from his bag, and gently placed it near Alisaie's, before rejoining his sister.

They wouldn't run away. But they wouldn't fight either.

"What are you proving this way?" Toriel asked, creating more fire. Alisaie heard Alphinaud yelp as some of it caught him across the back as they dodged. "Fight me or leave!" Fire roared. Alisaie gritted her teeth, as flames burned several parts of her, engulfing the twins in an inferno.

They still stood when it faded. Still refused to run away or fight.

Toriel's emotionless mask cracked. "Stop it." Alisaie braced herself as more fire conjured in air. But the flames went right past them, parting like a river around them. "Stop looking at me that way." Again, the attack missed. She wasn't even trying to hit them now, Alisaie realized. Toriel had no intention of killing them.

The last wave of fire sputtered, then died out. Toriel forced a smile, "I know you both want to go home, but... But please... Go upstairs now. I promise I will take good care of you here. I know we do not have much, but... We can have a good life here." The twins didn't respond, continuing to look ahead at her. Toriel's voice broke, "Why are you making this so difficult? Please, go upstairs."

The twins shook their heads. "We can't." Alphinaud said.

Toriel chuckled brokenly, "Ha ha... Pathetic, is it not? I cannot save even a single child."

"Toriel... We understand how you feel." Alphinaud said. "It... must have been hard for you, seeing those humans die. But... trapping us here won't help anything."

"We'll just be miserable." Alisaie added. "We have family... friends... on the surface. I don't think... We could live with you, knowing you stopped us from trying to see them again. We'd be no better then prisoners."

"I understand." Toriel said. "You both would just be unhappy trapped down there. The Ruins are very small once you get used to them. It would not be right for either of you to grow up in a place like this."

"Then..."

Toriel nodded, "My expectations... My loneliness... My fear... For you, my children... I will put them aside." She relaxed, clasping her hands in front of her. "If you truly wish to leave the Ruins... I will not stop you. However, when you leave..." She gave them a pained expression. "Please do not come back. I hope you understand."

Alisaie swallowed, "We do..."

Toriel lurched forward, and wrapped the twins in her arms. She was warm... They had to leave... But it was still hard. Alisaie was going to miss Toriel a lot. Alphinaud gripped Toriel's robe, looking as if he was trying not to cry. Alisaie closed her eyes, and buried her face in Toriel's fur.

Toriel released them, still smiling, "Goodbye, my children." She walked past, heading back down the hallway. She turned around for a brief moment, before continuing and vanishing around the corner.

And then they were alone.

After a long moment, Alphinaud said quietly, "Let's go."

They went through the door, and down the long hallway. As before, they emerged into a dimly lit room. As before, that stupid flower waited for them.

It smirked, "Clever. Verrrryyy clever. You think you're really smart, don't you? So you were able to play by your own rules. You spared the life of a single person. "

"I'm not in the mood to hear it from you." Alisaie said coolly. "'Kill or be killed'... I admit, I was close to believing that. But now I see... It doesn't have to be that way. So you can just... piss off!"

"Language!" Alphinaud chided.

"Oh come on, like it doesn't deserve it!"

Flowey sneered, "Don't act so cocky. I know what you did."

"What I-"

Flowey's face transformed into a mimicry of Toriel's, "You murdered her." A chill went down Alisaie's spine. "And then you went back, because you regretted it."

"Went back?" Alphinaud asked, "What do you mean?"

Flowey turned towards Alisaie, "Why don't you ask HER that question?"

"Alisaie... What is he talking about?"

Why couldn't she stop shaking? She hugged herself. "We did kill her... Toriel... Before... It was an accident! I didn't mean to...! But then... I was suddenly back at Toriel's house... Like it was just a dream... So I actually did go back in time..."

Flowey cackled, "You idiot. You don't even realize what you did. Or what you have. The power to reshape the world... Purely by your own determination. The ability to play God! The ability to 'SAVE.'"

"SAVE..."

"That's right. And LOAD, going back to your SAVE point, if you really want to get technical. I thought I was the only one with that power."

"You can SAVE?" Alphinaud asked. Alisaie shivered. The thought of a time-traveling Flower was _terrifying._

"Not anymore. Apparently YOUR desires for this world override MINE." Flowey snickered, "Well well. Enjoy that power while you can. I'll be watching."

It cackled madly, its face transforming into a large, trollish smirk, before it disappeared underground.

So, Flowey knew about her time travel... And could remember the other timelines, evidently. Alisaie looked at her hand. LOAD... She had LOADed. Her SAVE point had obviously been back at Toriel's house.

But how did she create the point to begin with? ...And more importantly, how did she make another? Flowey probably knew, but it was unlikely he'd tell.

"I hate that flower." She said.

"I don't really like him either." Alphinaud beckoned to her, "We need to move on. And... I think we have a lot to talk about."

No kidding.

With that, the twins passed through the door, and left the Ruins behind for real.


End file.
